Freezer Tips for Fresh Produce

Instead of canning, here are some easy methods for freezing some of your end-of-season fruits and vegetables

When the weather condition threatens to souse below freezing , it ’s time to clear out the veg garden . Most season that mean I have an teemingness of tomatoes , peppers , summer squash vine , and eggplants that I need to preserve .

I ’ve found my fridge ’s deep freezer offers a clip - saving answer to other preserving method , such as canning . The freezer allows for modest - batch freezing ; it ’s easy to do , and many yield and vegetable can be carry on with just a small preparation .

Besides reduce food wastefulness , freezing maintains the color , flavour , and texture of garden - grown produce . Freezing also retains important nutrient .

However , freeze does n’t sterilize foods , like canning does . Keep intellectual nourishment condom at top of thinker , and freeze only the clean produce using approve good practices . TheNational Center for Home Food Preservationis an excellent imagination .

Here are some originative choice for freezing tomatoes , peppercorn , summer squash , and eggplant .

tomato

Tomatoes need to be prepared before freezing . For fresh Lycopersicon esculentum , wash , peel , and place whole love apple in traveling bag or container . Another option is to fix tomatoes into sauce , roast them , or bake them into a mouth-watering tomato - cheese nimble cabbage for freeze . For green tomatoes , saute , stew , roast , bake , or shred them before block .

Peppers

For fresh , whole peppers ( like jalapenos ) , put them in a deep-freeze travelling bag . When quick to use , remove the number of peppers you want , wash , thaw slightly , and chop to use . For fresh odorous pepper , wash , stem , remove seed , piece , and quick steam one to two minutes before freezing . An choice is to roast peppers on a grill or under the oven broiler until the peel blisters ; cool and remove source and stems before commit in freezer bags or containers . CAUTION — wear out gloves and protective eyewear when working with raging capsicum pepper plant .

Summer Squash

impertinent squelch immobilize optionsinclude slicing and placing on a cookie sheet , freezing , and using flash-frozen slices in soups , frittatas , etc . continue squash by baking into prompt breadstuff and cakes ; hooey squash , blank , stuff , bake , freeze .

Eggplant

Bake eggplant into a cake , or make batches of ratatouille and stop dead for quick meal on in use weeknight .

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Fresh tomatoes can be preserved by freezing instead of canning. Wash, peel, core, and place in freezer bags. Be sure to add a label.Photo: Jodi Torpey

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